The structure and pervaporation properties for acetic acid/water of polydimethylsiloxane composite membranes

Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)/organic montmorillonite (OMMT)/polyether polyethersulfone (PES) composite membranes were prepared by in situ anionic polymerization using 3-aminopropyltrimethoxy (AMEO) as a crosslinker. The morphology, thermal properties and interaction of PDMSAMEO/OMMT membranes were characterized by using a scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and a thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). The swelling behavior of membranes without PES support was investigated. The effects of AMEO content and OMMT content on separation properties were also studied. The results show that the addition of appropriate OMMT could improve the hydrophobic and pro-acetic acid properties of a membrane. The acetic acid selectivity of membranes was best when AMEO content was 0.1. The membrane, loading 2 wt.% OMMT, exhibited the highest separation factor for a feed concentration of 10 wt.% at 313 K. An increase in feed concentration resulted in the enhancement of flux and selectivity. When the feed concentration was above 20 wt.%, the separation factor of a filled membrane was larger than for an unfilled membrane. With increases in the feed temperature, the permeation flux of membranes increased. However, the acetic acid selectivity of an unfilled membrane decreased but for filled membranes initially increased before decreasing.

► The membranes were prepared using AMEO as a substitute of cross-linker TEOS.
► OMMT was used as filler to improve the pervaporation performance of membrane.
► PDMS-AMEO/OMMT/PES composite membrane was used in acetic acid/water separation.